Meet the Candidates night review

[dollywood]

Thank you for your response. I am sure that the community understands that you could not help being late. I do have questions and I will contact you via phone/e-mail.

Once again thank you,
Dolly

[Go Plainedge!]

Ralph:

Thanks for posting your message. I hope you are successful next week....for our sake.

Dolly, I have attended BOE meetings for the past year now. As I have posted on this MB in the past, Mr. Raymond is one of very few on the current board that actually questions (at least at the meetings) topics and issues presented by the administration. He questions them with a true need to understand the issues and to make sure that the community understands the issues as well. I have witnessed him not casting (or wanting to) vote on an issue because the facts (presented by the administration) are not clear.

I get the sense (though some here may disagree) that Ralph really has the interest of the community and the kids in mind and won't be dictated by the foot stomping the administration does. Other BOE members claim to have that same interest but have failed to prove it.

[dollywood]

While I do not doubt that Mr. Raymond has the best interest at heart. I think we need people who are going to get a tad creative with income generation. Maybe solicit major corp. funding in some way to off set tax burden. I do not know, I am just putting out ideas. However, I think there needs to be something NEW. There needs to be cuts in certain spending. IMO.

I could be wrong!

Dolly

[mythreekids]

Just facts writes: What about the Secretary's vacation pay lawsuit, would you order it to be settled it as the courts have decided? ....
Just FYI- lawsuit was settled about 2 weeks ago and they have been reimbursed from what I am told by the Secretaries..HOWEVER_ They still do not have a contract. Maybe a mediator will work?? Food for Thought

[justfacts]

mythreekids

Hey! Great input - one less burden.

Qualified professional negotiators are always superior in satisfactory results for both sides and at far less total cost compared to "in-house" negotiators. Their fees are one of the best values in the long run.

I would prefer to see one at work in their case rather than a mediator. Mediators can be quite devastating as they use the split down the middle indiscriminate approach. The negotiator's give and take exchange is more respectful of both sides.

Why can't a contract be implemented? Who is representing the Board in this matter? Do you know?

I can supply info on the negotiator we use at the library to that person - it might make all the difference in the world.




dollywood

While the focus remains of School Administration is in "Mo' Money!" - this usually means it comes from the State or, in reality, from the other pockets of the same taxpayers. Several others pursue the "Cut this, Cut that, Cut everything" approach.

There is a third approach - redirect the same amount of money into the Programs and avoid ever entering into the other areas whenever possible.

An illustration: That $495,000 of TAN interest. The proper cost for that level of TAN planned is effectively 1/3rd that amount with proper fiscal planning! The money received will be earning interest in a capital account that can be used along with $165,000 to pay off the TAN. This means there is that much less Property Tax to be collected in the Capital portion of the budget - $335,000 less!

Now, without cutting the total Property Tax - leaving it at the same amount - the District could plan to apply that "savings" to Program accounts. Of course, it could also apply some, or all, of it to reduce the Property Tax.

But I believe that, with reasonable budgeting, almost all taxpayers would favor increasing the "cut" that the children get. After all, with the poor money management now going on, the Children get 70¢ of every dollar while Capital is getting 20¢ of every dollar!

Children get 3.5 times what capital (bankers) get! They should be getting more like 8 times what the bankers get! (80¢ on the dollar!)[/i]

I believe that what I've discussed here blows those "fiscal savings plans" we heard last night out of the water. Not one has even begun to realize that the $60 Million in money regularly dumped into the District by both the State and the Taxpayer, can be made to earn a sizable amount of interest, offsetting other costs or adding money to another "pot" besides Capital!

This technique is "Cash Flow" money management - earning the maximum amount of money on your money! I never heard that topic at the Candidates meeting![/i]

Ed.

[concerned]

I have to say, I thought last night was great. I must applaud each candidate who is running. They all have solid backgrounds and are definitely what our BOE needs to help put a fresh perspective into things. I too thought Lassman's attack was a turn off and up until that moment I thought I would have voted for him.

One question, who is responsible for putting the propsoal on the ballot to say they will run for an open seat next year and not a specific one. Kudo's to whomever took the initiative to make this happen. I thought this needed to happen for a while.

Also, I loved all of Maryanne's answers. I thought she incorporated a lot of what everyone has been saying over the past two years. Finally, I liked that Frank mentioned the meetings three nights in a row for the budget. It's hard enough to get out of the house or away from work for one night let alone three nights in a row. We really have some qualified people running for the Board.

What an amazing turn out too. Let's hope it all keeps up.

[devilsrus]

Dollywood....welcome aboard! One of the reaons the fundraising was so successful last year was initiative. You have demonstrated that same initiative with your thougt of corporate funding. The second way that the fundraising was so successful was that people pursued their ideas....go for it and bring back some concrete proposals. If it is feasible you will find welcome support.

Great post Concerned regarding the ballot proposal and the majority vote. That petition was long overdue and hopefully will pass. We have all focused on the budget and rightfully so, but this is an idea whose time has come.

There are a multiple of concerns facing our community in the coming year(s). But the first is VOTE YES! Only after the budget is accepted can we move on to the other items which need to be addressed.

Great turn out for the VOTE YES tonight!

[justfacts]

The next Board of Education President!

The present Board is:
President: Richard Mallow
Vice-President: Loretta Giardina
Member: Catherine Flanagan
Member: Frank Presuto
Member: Douglas Pascarella
Member: Ralph Raymond
Member: Patricia Zinke

Since Mr. Mallow is leaving and Ms. Giarina has refused the Presidency, that leaves 5 others eligible for the position. Tradition has it that new members to the Board are not nominated to the position of Presidency. This would remove: Felice Cantatore, MaryAnn Capone, Allan Fox and Steve Lassman directly from contention. Frank Presuto, filling in on Mr. Dick's unexpired term, might or might not be in the unofficial eligible category. That leaves four present Board members eligible.

By years of experience as a Board member, Mr. Raymond is the senior. His appointment as President would certainly ensure both 100% and timely attendance, a negative claim often made (but not substantiated) against him! His past Board experience provides the new members with a recall what actions did, or did not occur in the past five years - either in past Executive Sessions or at Open Meetings. That is an invaluable asset. He is also experienced in "Presidential Authority"; often used to control Board directions. This authority is detailed in the description under Ms. Flanagan.

Mr. Pascarella is the next senior member. Since the Board President will be determining what is placed on the Agenda for each meeting, and what will not be; his limited outside business knowledge and the limited experience with use of the power which that responsibility entails, does not favor him for that position. Also, his ability to control the events of people interactions in a meeting is questionable at his age and present personality.

Catherine Flanagan has experience at controlling people interactions at meetings. She has also experience in the use of "Presidential Authority". That is the power to direct which way a Board goes during the year by the quite tool of Agenda preparation. After all, if an issue is not on the Board Agenda, it does not get addressed. Having past experience, she also knows that the President is a member of each committee - and usually establishes committees. Therefore this is another tool that quietly controls Board direction. One can "Send it back to committee for further study" on many hot issues - this lets the issue cool off by neglect.

Patricia Zinke, like Ms. Flanagan, has a similar background. She could control meetings and would understand the use of "Presidential Authority". Not having to express her platform at last year's Meet Your Candidate" night; and not being vocal or controversial at meetings, she remains more of an enigma.

A key element in making the choice for Board President is just how susceptible and compliant the person is to the dominance and control of the Superintendent - and how independent they are of him. Ms. Zinke, as well as Mr. Raymond and Mr. Presuto, seem to definitely fall into the independent areas.

So the choice for next year's Board of Education President seems to fall between Ms. Zinke or Ms. Flanagan; or, assuming re-election, Mr. Raymond with the remote possibility of Mr. Presuto as a dark horse, a dark horse that seems to be well able to reign![/i]

Of these candidates - who would you like to have to lead us to new Board operations this coming year? Your vote on Tuesday could help to make this choice clearer! Remember, you have no vote in this matter at the first Organizational Meeting of the Board - The nomination for that choice may fall into the hands of just three members or five, depending on the outcome of the election!

Ed.

[justfacts]

For those with a lot of patience

The School District site has added Video clips of "Meet Your Candidate" night. The clips focus on segments - Question 1 - Question 2- Question 3 - - - - Closing remarks by This one and Closing remarks from that one.

Each clip will probably take 10 minutes or so to transfer - they are not compressed files! That's with a high speed connection on this end! The school site seems to run at a lower speed - making all downloads take some time.

Ed.

[Go Plainedge!]

Now would be a good time to start thinking about the pressure WE want to place on the BOE Trustees as to who should be nominated for President.

The nominee should be someone that can conduct and lead a meeting. The person should NOT be someone that barely contributes and just shakes their head in agreement. The nominee should be someone that is always questioning the issues presented and never settling for anything less than full disclosure of all details. The person should be able to stand up to "the man" with complete confidence. The nominee should NOT be a puppet or a penguin.

Who should it be? Who shouldn't it be?

[bette]

The new president must be Capone!!!

Please everyone watch the meet the candidate tape on the plainedgeschools.org site read her bio that was sent home. She is what we need on this board. She has the most to offer. She has the drive and the knowledge and the financial background that no one else has to offer. Once this budget is passed we must move onward and upward to make Plainedge and make these kids all they can be.

As parents and community members we need a board member that can read and understand all that we do not in these contract and budget negotiations. I truly believe she can do it and anyone that attended Monday nights meeting knew in their gut that this is true.

Please everyone, use your gut instinct and vote for what we truly need.



Please give this community what it needs.

[plainedgewatcher]

bette,

are you saying you know the outcome of the elections already?

interesting that you say that since it looked like CFL had the inside track on the questions during meet the candidates night !!!!! The mystery gets deeper

[patriot2415]

Some thoughts on Meet the Candidates:

1. It was a better format then previous years and well attended.

2. Format is still weak. Recommended changes

a. when soliciting questions from the community, categories should be set up ie:
- Budget
- community interaction
- ideas for change...etc

b. Questions submitted from the community should be read in their original format (not re-written) with the name of the person who sent in the question.

c. ALL candidates should answer ALL questions

d. Candidates should be prepared to list 3 positive and 3 negative issues about the district and explain their thoughts. They should then present ideas for solutions for the 3 negative issues.


Doesn't matter if it takes 3 hours, budget meeting take that long. I believe the community would be willing to invest their time.

I welcome any comments !!!!

[justfacts]

patriot2415

There you go again! Asking for a format that is fair and works!

Next thing you know you'll want ALL the Candidates to get the questions in advance! ;D

More seriously! ~ ~ ~ Good comments!

And a follow up period for a half-hour or so of open discussions on the floor, mingling with the audience, would not be a bad addition either. They more informal exchanges - which people gravitating to candidates they want to find out more about would not be harmful or time wasting.

I had exchanges with some after the formal Q&A session that led to their promises to call me with follow up actions. Calls and actions which never occurred. It gave me a better idea of who would follow through on their promises and who would not! Who would BS me on the spot and who would not.

Ed.

Next year's "Meet The Candidates" WILL be better because WE are getting involved!

[bette]

watcher:

That is a silly question!? How would I know the outcome. Just using the site for what it is for -- Opinions

I don't know what you saw on Monday -- I saw some people that were prepared for questions and some that were not. In my opinion there were no off the wall or off subject questions asked. They seemed pretty standard to me. I also feel that all of the candidates should have answered all of the questions.

and I did not speak of CFL I spoke of Capone. The whole idea of the vote is to get the best qualified person on the board. That is it in a nutshell.

So again I say -- Read the bios watch the responses to the questions asked on plainedgeschools.org website and go with your gut and vote for who think has the most knowledge, drive and background that this district needs to get on track and keep moving forward. She seems to have all that.